


Love hurts - but sometimes its a good hurt

by Pickl3lily



Series: Killerwave 2016 [7]
Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Allusions to past canoncial kidnapping, Discussion of Soulmates, F/M, Gen, KillerWave Week 2016, Metaphors, References to canonical character deaths, What is a soulmate?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-11
Updated: 2016-06-11
Packaged: 2018-07-14 12:25:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7170935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pickl3lily/pseuds/Pickl3lily
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>KillerWave week 2016 - Day 7: Soulmates</p><p>Being locked in a vault awaiting rescue with Mick Rory is somewhere Caitlin Snow never wanted to be. Not that they'll be rescued if his lighter sucks away all of the oxygen before they're found. Better distract him, and what better way than with a little 'light-hearted' discussions of soulmates, past loves lost and metaphorical ice walls in need of melting?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Love hurts - but sometimes its a good hurt

 

 

Soulmates. It truly was a fascinating concept. But there were so many takes on what a soulmate really was. Caitlin had been stuck on the subject since Cisco had brought up Kendra and Carter being fated for one another, for the millionth time, and it had gotten her thinking. Now, trapped in a vault with Mick Rory, of all people, she found herself needing to distract him so he would stop trying to play with his bloody lighter – after all, they would need to preserve their oxygen for as long as possible, to hopefully allow them the chance of rescue.

Hence her actually asking her once, (unofficial), nemesis: “How would you define a soulmate?” in a completely serious and inquisitive tone. He stopped flipping the lid of his Zippo then, looking at her like she had gone mad. “Oxygen deprived already, Snow? Only been here ten minutes.” Of course he wouldn’t take this seriously. Caitlin rolled her eyes, throwing in a dramatic huff of irritation in case he’d missed the eye roll. “No, but we’ll suffer oxygen deprivation a whole lot sooner if you keep trying to play with your precious fire so… Look I know it seems like a stupid topic to discuss with each other but I was thinking – you were on the Waverider right?” Here she paused, fixing Mick with a pointed look that he met with his own confused stare; nevertheless, he nodded. “Right so you were with Kendra and Carter. Now, they reincarnate all the time and find each other – Is finding each other them being soulmates? Cisco said it’s that they always fall in love but – what if they only ever fall in love because they remember that they’ve been in love before? That they know that, and allow it to influence how they develop their new relationship?”

She paused in her tirade when she noticed the incredulous stare he was throwing her and when he began to smile, she tensed. “What?” She couldn’t help but feel a little nervous considering that, despite him being mostly a good guy now, the last time she had seen his wolfish grin had been all those months ago. When he’d had her strapped to a bomb. “You really been giving this some though, huh Snow?” He was definitely amused and she felt her cheeks heat up as they reddened; feeling defensive, she drew her legs up to her torso and hugged them closer.

“Look Snow. I ain’t poking fun. Its just – I ain’t exactly thought a whole lot on the subject. But I guess – I see where you’re coming from. Soulmate is just a fancy way of saying ‘someone who makes you whole.’” He stopped, considering and Caitlin found herself relaxing, leaning forward to soak up his take on the matter. “There ain’t no rule, as far as I know, that says it’s gotta be romantic. I mean, look at FIRESTORM. Professor is happily married, the Kid’s interested in girls his age…” Mick tilted his head, scrunching up his face as he tried to figure out if Jax’s crush on Kendra counted as being near his age with her current reincarnation being seven years older, or not what with her technically being a couple thousand years old. “Ish, anyway. Point being – Stein and Jax complete each other. They balance each other like fire and ice – closest thing to real soulmates I think I’ve seen and it ain’t romantic. And don't say it don't make sense just cause they're both compustible - its a damn metaphor. Simile. Some word thing - anyway! Seeing the lovebirds – I think it’s just jumping into love, ‘cause they're afraid of losing each other before knowing how they really feel. Sometimes it probably is real, but… Yeah”

Caitlin let out a deep sigh, eyes glassy as she stared up at him, admittedly shocked at the depth of his words. Something stuck with her though. “Fire and Ice… Kind of like –“ Mick snarled across her “Me and Snart weren’t soulmates. Don’t even say it.” Instead of shrinking back, or at least pretending to be thoroughly chastised as she probably should, Caitlin just smiled. “I was actually going to say me and Ronnie. He used to say that it’s what we were like – I was cold and tough and he melted his way into my heart. Said I needed a bit of fire in my life to balance out the cold.” She knew that she smiling wistfully in remembrance of her late husband, fiddling with the band on her chain absently.

“Reckon he was right.” Mick’s gruff voice pulled her from her nostalgia, and she was suddenly snapping her head up to stare back at him wide eyed. “I ain’t forgot when we met. You thought he was dead right? You were so cold, all I wanted to do was burn away the ice, melt you and make you human.” Caitlin should be saying something, doing _something_ – his admission was terrifying and horrific; she shouldn’t feel _comforted_ by it. It shouldn’t feel like truth.

“Maybe I really do just need someone like that in my life – like Ronnie said. Someone who can balance me out and stop me from becoming so shut off – so cold. After Ronnie, I went back into my icy shell, and it took Barry to start chipping away at that before I started to feel like a real person again – but then when Ronnie died, for real, and he felt guilty and ran away. I made myself let Jay in and let him start to get past my walls and then he betrayed me – he _kidnapped_ me. I need someone to balance me out because my automatic defence is to become ice but I don’t just keep out pain – I keep out love. I can’t be happy living in defence mode and I need someone to balance me. I need someone honest - someone I know the worst of from the get-go. I need a soulmate.”

She hadn’t noticed that her words had been becoming more and more determined, the way she always did when she was figuring out a problem – considering all the variables before reaching a conclusion. “Right – where exactly do you think you’re gonna find another soulmate? Don’t grow on trees, I’ll bet.” Mick countered, but Caitlin could tell it wasn’t meant to be cutting – there were a great many ways he could use what she’d just said and torn her to shreds. Mick Rory, despite his criminal tendencies, was just the kind of man who was honest to the point where it could not, ever, be considered a virtue.

“We met when you kidnapped me. You said it yourself that you remember. You were a dick – holding a lighter to my face and threatening to burn me. But you were also honest – you never tried to lure me into false security or trick me into anything. You admit, even now that you did harbour some malicious intent towards me and that shows that even if you regret it, you’ll never hide from the things you’ve done. You won’t lie and pretend that they never happened. Those are bad habits of mine – I like to run from my problems and shut people out – I need someone to burn down my walls and hit me with some hard truths. With Snart gone, you’re going to need someone capable of being cold and calculating – of being able to compartmentalise and take control. I’m not saying that we’ll find love, but we could find friendship… So-” Caitlin had been strong throughout her entire speech, merely slowing her words when considering where to go next, but here she found herself needing to pause; needing to steel herself in order to prevent her voice from wavering as she met Mick’s gaze, bewilderment playing across his features, already seeming to understand where she was going with this. Perhaps he knew before she did - she hadn't known what she was going to say when she had started, but there was no going back now. “What do you say, Mick Rory, fancy being my chosen soulmate and I’ll be yours?”

He crawled forward, lighter flicking on as he held it up next to her face as it had before, but this time she felt no need to flinch away; there was no danger here, just an echo of the past - symbolic of their conversation. This time, when that flame lit up the grin on his face, she found herself returning it with one almost just as manic.

“Mine, huh? Awesome.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> I know. I know. Technically I cheated a little bit, but despite having a really clear idea of how I would write an AU with Mick and Caitlin having soulmarks that represented each other's personalities, it just wouldn't translate onto Word. Anyway, I've had a blast this week and hope everyone else who enjoys this pairing has too.


End file.
